Finding Jessie
by jessie potter
Summary: Jonny goes to save a kidnapped Jessie and finds out a few things about love on the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Jessie**

**Destination: Manhattan, New York**

The tires slashed through puddles of rain, as the motorcycle furiously weaved through traffic. The young man on the motorcycle wore a heavy sport jacket, and he was clad entirely in black. Suddenly, he reached in his pocket, pulling out a sleek cell phone, which was glowing blue as it rang.

"Hey Dad," He said, laughing playfully, "Yeah I'll be there - _on time." _

He snapped the phone shut, and his black gloves flexed over the handles, forcing the motorcycle to go faster than a hundred miles per hour, leaving the cars around him a silvery blur as he sped past. In a moment, he turned smoothly round a corner, leaving the cars and wide streets behind. The road was near the dark sea harbor, and he looked to the side, to see a large jet roaring on the tarmac, readying for flight, the noise of the jet drowning out all sound.

He turned the bike and floored the brakes, smoothly skidding to a stop a few dangerous meters from one of the jetliner's whirling engines, which was making ripples in his dark heavy jacket as he dismounted. The young man took off his visor covering his deep blue eyes as he strode to the jet.

The engines shuddered to a stop, and the plane door was thrown open.

"JONNY QUEST!" Dr. Benton Quest thundered through the pouring rain, "Where have you been?"

Jonny bounded up the stairs, brushing past Dr. Quest as he boarded the jet, "Nice to see you too, Dad."

Dr. Quest was blustering red behind him out of anger. He closed the door, and walked briskly to his seat in the cockpit. A loud barking noise came from behind, and a small white dog bounded up to Jonny, jumping on him.

"Bandit!" Jonny cried, as he let the little dog lick his face, "Down, boy!"

"You know, Jonny," came the low voice of Race Bannon, who was sitting in the cockpit with a large headset around his ears, "You could try to be a little more responsible. Dr. Quest and I haven't heard from you for hours! Where have you been?"

Jonny pulled on his seatbelt, "Quit worrying about me, Race. I was around ... And you know, you could save some of that nagging for Jessie."

Jonny smirked as Race turned his head to see him, his eyes narrowed.

Race turned on the microphone, speaking into it, "Thank you for flying Quest Airlines. Please fasten your seatbelts. Passengers - and by that, I mean you, Jonny - are encouraged to stay inside the plane till we land. Please avoid urges to moonwalk on the plane's wings to impress a certain girl…"

Jonny gave a harsh laugh, "I'll try, Race."

Jonny held Bandit close to his wet jacket, as they both looked out the window as the jet lurched to the air, the glittering Manhattan skyline falling away below them.

He felt strangely excited. In a few hours, he would be home again at Quest Compound. He hadn't been there for ages, since he spent his whole summer in New York. Hadji had gone to Bangalore, while Jessie was on another one of those archeological digs in South America with her mother Estella. He couldn't wait to see Hadji again, and go hover-boarding with him in the compound.

And Jessie – Jonny couldn't wait to see her too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Finding Jessie**

**Destination: Quest Compound, Maine**

A few hours later, Jonny lay sprawled on the large sofa in the Hall, running his hands through his tousled hair as Bandit slept idly next to him. The rain was pouring like crazy in Maine just like in Manhattan, and the glass windowpanes tinkled like crystals from the downpour. Jessie and Estelle's flight would be leaving in a few hours, and then finally they'd all be home together. Jonny looked across the room seeing Dr. Quest and Hadji playing chess, something they had done since Hadji was a little boy. Race was pacing near the windows, talking loudly over his cell phone to Estella.

"Slow down, slow down Estella," Race said loudly, "You're breaking up. What did you say?"

Jonny, Dr. Quest, and Hadji looked up.

Race was silent for a few minutes, his back turned to them. "What?" Race's voice was hoarse. "Estella, you're not sure? How – when – when did she go missing?"

Jonny sat up straight, worried that Jessie had gone on one of her '_adventures'_ again without telling Estella. _Typical Jess, _Jonny thought with a laugh to himself. He and Jessie were more alike than he'd have liked to admit.

Race turned away from the window, his face was white, and they had never seen him like that before. "It couldn't have been her! There are so many girls that look like Jessie."

Jonny scoffed unconsciously.

"- So, you saw – you're sure – it's Jessie?" Race asked over the phone, and his voice was shaking. Dr. Quest got up to his feet, scattering the chess pieces to the ground. He strode to Race, who suddenly dropped the cell phone to the ground, sending it crashing into pieces.

Race lowered his head, and his shoulders shook with unshed tears. "It's Jessie," He said, and his voice sounded tight. Race looked up at Dr. Quest, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Jessie's – she's gone. Estella just came back from the morgue. – She's sure it was – it was her body -"

Race leaned against the wall, lowering his head again, as he wept covering his eyes with his hands as if he felt to blame.

Hadji got up and walked over to the Dr. Quest and Race, reaching out a hand to calm Race. Suddenly, all three men turned around at a sudden noise as the front door slammed shut.

Jonny was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finding Jessie**

**Destination: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

Jonny had been flying for nearly ten hours and he was still over stretches of sea. He checked the fuel gauge – dangerously low. It was a bad idea not refueling in Mexico City, but it was illegal for Jonny to be piloting the jet without his license yet and he would have been arrested if he did.

He was just going to have to wing it.

On the horizon, came the view of Rio de Janeiro, as the sunset cast the whole city in a golden glow. A sudden red light began blinking furiously on the control board. The blinking light turned to a blaring sound alarm.

"Oh Damn," Jonny mumbled and pulled out an earmarked manual he had been using while Race had been teaching him to fly. "So, that light means … Oh that's just great! The landing gear doesn't work." He growled angrily, as he focused again on the view of the city.

"This must be your lucky day, Jonny." He said to himself, as he prepared himself for an emergency landing. The plane plummeted closer and closer to the high-rise buildings. Jonny veered the plane to the left near a field.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Jonny yelled, as the plane hit an antenna, and then crashed through the tops of a few houses, creating sparks around the cockpit.

The jet crashed brutally against the ground, skidding to a fiery stop in the middle of the field.

Jonny threw the emergency cockpit door open, and he jumped out.

Coughing violently, and walking briskly away from the smoking blazing mess of the jet, he turned to examine the damage. "Oh fuck," He said, running his hands through his hair. "Dad's not gonna be happy about that."

An old Brazilian farmer was watching nearby, laughing at Jonny amiably. Jonny ran over to him, pointing at the farmer's old station wagon.

Jonny was breathing loudly, and his face was tinged with the soot from the jet fire. "Puedo yo tomar prestado su automóvil?" Jonny asked quickly in broken Spanish. He fished in his pockets, pulling out a handful of dollar bills and stuffing them in the man's hands. The man nodded dumbly.

A few minutes later, Jonny raced through the crowded streets in the beat up station wagon, the horn blaring as he turned corners wildly. He checked the map on his phone, he was nearly there.

Then he saw it. The city morgue was crowded with people selling rosaries and wreathes. The car skidded to a halt, crashing into the side of a building, sending the bonnet flying up. Not caring about the car, Jonny jumped over the door, brushing past the peddlers and ran inside. The people in the hallway looked up at him as he raced to a woman sitting on a bench, her red hair framing her face.

"Estella?" Jonny asked, and she looked up.

"Jonny," she cried, "Oh, I'm sorry, you were her best friend –" She brought up her arms and hugged him. Jonny flinched angrily, but he kept quiet, letting Estella cry into his shoulder. Something in him was sure that Jessie was still alive. But he didn't want to tell anyone. Not Race – Not Hadji – Not even Estella.

"Do you want to see her?" She asked, searching his eyes.

Jonny nodded grimly.

She led him past the crowds of people, and went through a set of double doors. The place almost looked like a hospital. He found himself standing with Estella in a cold silvery room, with rows and rows of silver cubicles. A nurse handed him a face mask, and walked to a silver cubicle on the very end. She waited for Estella and Jonny before pulling it open.

A sheet covered the body, and the Nurse slowly folded up the sheet from the face down.

A sudden fear swept through Jonny and he was suddenly not so sure. The rotting corpse almost looked like Jessie, and he steadied himself by placing a hand on Estella. She had long red hair, but her face – her face, he couldn't tell who she was by her face. It was completely deformed from the acid.

Was it really her?

Estella was sobbing again, clutching Jonny by the jacket. He put a hand over her shoulder, and his eyes were still staring at the body in front of him.

If Estella knew that this was her daughter, who was Jonny to think that it wasn't?

* * *

A few hours later, Jonny found himself outside a coffee shop. He felt dazed and confused, as if the last twenty four hours had passed in a blur. He couldn't cry, he could barely think. Estella was in a phone booth nearby, and she was calling Race and Dr. Quest, telling them she was taking care of Jonny.

She came over, and sat down next to him. She pushed a paper plate of food into his hands. "Remember this? You three loved to have Quejadinhas from this coffee shop. It was her favorite dessert."

Jonny just stared at the warm plate, saying nothing. Estella looked down into his face kindly, "Jonny, it's okay to cry. It's okay to miss her. –"

Suddenly, Jonny's cell phone rang. He looked down, thinking it was Dr. Quest or Hadji again. But he didn't recognize the number.

He flipped it open. "Hello?"

A small whisper came from the other end, sounding pleading, "Jonny…"

Jonny stood up, "I can't hear you – Hello? Who is this?"

He looked at the number again. The voice was louder this time, and more desperate, "Jonny, it's me, Jess. You've got to find me. Please."

His voice cracked, and he looked wildly at Estella, "Jessie?" He asked through the phone, in a near whisper, making sure no one but Estella heard him. Estella's eyes widened, and she leaned in to listen.

"… Please find me. I'm trapped. I think I'm in a temple in the Ballestas Islands – Just come quickly. I think – I think they're going to make a sacrifice –"

He couldn't hear anymore as the line became dead.

Estella's face was bright, and she was crying out of shock. Jonny held a hand to her face, quieting her, making sure no one was watching them. He closed the phone, breathing a sigh in relief. Jonny turned to Estella, his face bright with excitement, "Looks like we're going to need a boat."

(A/N: Who let Jonny get behind more stuff he could crash?)


End file.
